^^^>-0C¥ 




Class 

Book ' ^-^ 



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Copyright N" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



•1-^' 



THE 

CORNELL NAVY 



A REVIEW 

By 

C. V. P. YOUNG 

Professor of Physical Culture at Cornell University 

and Director of the Gymnasium 




190 7 
TAYLOR AND CARPENTER 

ITHACA. NEW YORK 






&:d^ 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDles Reeelved 

/H'R 25 \907 

/,«0Dynznt Entry 
CLAfeS /A XXCm No. 
COPY B 



COPYRIGHT, 1907, by 
TAYLOR AND CARPENTER 

All rights reserve J 



= c « 
c c 
c c c 



To the "Old Man," 
CHARLES E. COURTNEY 

whose coaching, 

and to the " ^oys," whose faithful training and earnest work, 

have combined to mal^e Cornell pre-eminent in 

Intercollegiate Rowing 



PREFACE 

In the following pages I have attempted to give, not so much a 
detailed account of the numerous events participated in by the Cornell 
Navy, as an accurate and brief survey of salient points in its history, 
beginning vv^ith its foundation in the Fall of 1871. 

The following record has been gleaned from the perusal of 
University records (Cornell Era, Magazine, Sun, etc.) from interviews 
with various interested alumni, and especially with Mr. Courtney, and 
also from correspondence with members of various crews. Its compila- 
tion is the result of a suggestion made by President Schurman, whose 
recognition of the value of manly outdoor sport as an important adjunct 
to University w^ork has been a constant source of encouragement to the 
w^riter in his efforts to promote the same at Cornell ; and also, I might 
add, whose public expression of his liberal and progressive views con- 
cerning physical training has done much to encourage aquatic sports 
among the students. 

Acknowledgment is due Mr. J. P. Troy, of Ithaca, N. Y., for 
the use of pictures of the 1 906 Races at Poughkeepsie, also to Messrs. 
W. T. Littig & Co., of New York, for the picture of the Cornell Univer- 
sity Campus appearing at the end of the book, also to Mr. C. W. Beck, Jr. 
of The Beck Engraving Co., Philadelphia, for valuable suggestions and 
special care in making the plates used in this book. 

C. V. p. YOUNG. 




CORNELL OF THE SEVENTIES 



THE CORNELL NAVY 



Interest in rowing at Cornell may be said to have begun almost with the founding of the 
University. That such should be the case is hardly to be w^ondered at, in view^ of its com- 
manding site overlooking the beautiful expanse of Cayuga Lake. The first manifestation of 
the boating spirit, perhaps, is to be found in the existence in '69 of an organization know^n as 
the Undine Boat Club, w^hich seems, how^ever, to have been little more than a social club w^ith 
an aquatic name. 

In the Fall of '70, as a result of the enthusiasm created by the visit of Mr. Thomas Hughes 
of England, a few^ students conceived the project of forming a University Boat Club, and by 
the beginning of the Spring trimester sufficient funds had been subscribed to w^arrant them in 
forming a permanent organization, w^hich they accordingly did under the title of the Cornell 
University Boat Club. At about the same time a rival organization w^as formed under the title 
of the Cornell University Boating Association. As neither club could claim to be the Univer- 
sity Boat Club, how^ever, at the suggestion of Professor Goldw^in Smith, the former club changed 
its name to the Tom Hughes Club, w^hile the " Association " took the name of the Cornell Navy. 

Mr. Hughes acknow^ledged the compliment by a letter, and also by the presentation of a 
Challenge Cup.* 

The letter is interesting, as characteristic of the w^riter's knowledge of and keen interest 
in the sport. Writing to the Secretary of the Tom Hughes Club, he says : "I have just found 
your letter, v^^hich I had stupidly mislaid. 1 hope, how^ever, that Mr. Goldw^in Smith has told you 
that I am very pleased and proud of the compliment you have paid me in naming the first 
Cornell boat club after me. He w^ill also have told you my view^s as to starting w^ith a good 
style (flat back, open knee, long reach forw^ard and sharp recovery, and getting the w^hole w^eight 
on the oar by making as much use of legs as arms), also as to pot- hunting and expensive prizes, 
wrhich spoil sport. There is no objection, how^ever, to a challenge cup, to be held by the cap- 
tain of w^inning boat for the year, and I w^ill try to pick up an old one and send it you over, if 
the club wrill accept it. I am afraid it w^ill be a long time before 1 have any chance of seeing 
Cornell again, but shall aWays retain a most happy memory of my first visit. 

Believe me most truly yours, 

THOS. HUGHES. 
House of Commons, June 30, 1871." 



*This cup and also the Sprague and Gluclc cups, offered a few years later for club and and class races, are now 
in the trophy room at Barnes Hall. Competition for them ceased when six-oared races w^ere abandoned, or soon 
thereafter. 

11 



Following upon the formation of these two clubs, the work of organization was energetic- 
ally pushed. The Navy, w^ith it larger enrollment of members, w^as soon able to raise sufficient 
funds for the purchase of lumber for a house, the students building the structure themselves, 
and also for the purchase of equipment. This equipment consisted of a queer looking six-oared 
barge, striped blue and w^hite, nicknamed the "Striped Pig;" an eight-oared gunw^ale barge, 
the " Cornell," to which w^as added a four-oared outrigger, called the " Buffalo." The Tom 
Hughes Club possessed at this time but a single boat, a six-oared outrigger called the Green 
Barge, w^hich was kept under an old shed on the Inlet. 

Active practice by both clubs began at once. The training of a Navy crew^ had been 
intrusted to Goldsmith, the one man w^ho had ever used a spoon oar, and w^hose instructions 
v^eie to " pull the stroke and then let the oar skim gracefully back over the water." A chal- 
lenge w^as soon received from the Tom Hughes crew^, but it w^as not deemed advisable to accept. 
In the follow^ing spring ('72), however, the two crew^s came together in the first regatta held 
by the Cornell Navy. 

The regatta w^as held on tw^o successive days. The first day's race w^as betw^een a crew 
from the Ithaca Row^ing Association in a four-oared boat called the " Biz," the Tom Hughes 
crew^ in their six-oared boat without a coxsw^ain, and the Navy crew^, made up from the Class 
of '73, in their six-oared boat, the "Striped Pig," and vsrith a coxsw^ain.* After tw^o false starts, 
they w^ere off, and the " Biz " w^as skimming along finely w^hen Number 2's (Treman) oar sud- 
denly snapped. He pluckily leaped out, however, and the crew^ of three continued on their 
wray, until a few^ minutes later, Number 3's oar broke, and then the " Biz " reluctantly yielded 
to adverse circumstances and turned shorew^ard. Meanw^hile, the Navy crew^ started off in 
good form but before many strokes had been taken, their boat, the " Striped Pig," began to 
push her nose under w^ater at each stroke, and soon after to fill, leaving her bold and muscular 
crew^ to flounder in the w^ater. The Tom Hughes Club row^ed the mile and back in eighteen 
minutes and ten seconds and w^on the race, although in view^ of all the circumstances they de- 
cided to forego their claim on the prize. 

This race w^as follow^ed by a race betw^een a Freshman crew^ made up of Schuyler (stroke), 
2 Montague, 3 Millspaugh, 4 Walters, 5 Ostrom, 6 Gardner, 7 Nichols, 8 Knight, with Kiersted 

as coxsw^ain, and a " picked crew^ selected 
on the spot from the crow^d on shore." It 
w^as w^on by the Freshmen. 

On the second day of the regatta the 
principal race w^as between a University 
crew^ stroked by Dole, the trainer w^ho had 
been secured to prepare a crew^ for the 
Intercollegiate Regatta, w^ith Dutton, Gold- 
smith and Bean, the other members, and a 
Union Springs crew^ of w^hich the two 
Courtney brothers w^ere members. The 
race was won handily by the visiting 
four. 




The Old Boathouse as it was in 1893 



* These crews were made up as follows : 



Ithaca Rowing Association — Doyle (stroke), 2 Treman, E. M. 
("a man of song and muscle"); 3 Halsey, 4 Brown. Tom Hughes — Anderson (stroke), 2 Weeks, 3 Devin, 
4 Chadwick, 5 Copeland, 6 Southard. Navy — Stoddard (stroke), 2 Dutton, 3 French, 4 Moses, 5 Ferriss, 6 Jayne. 



12 



Shortly before the holding of this regatta, the boating interest of Cornell had been har- 
monized and strengthened by the union of the Tom Hughes Club and the Navy, under the 
name of the latter. Through the efforts of James B. Edgerly, the secretary, admission was 
gained to the Rowing Association of American Colleges. A second-hand six-oared cedar 
shell w^as purchased from the Yale Navy, and a number of men w^ere placed under the charge 
of Bill Dole, a professional coach and trainer, in preparation for the Springfield races. Not- 
writhstanding the interest manifested in rowing, how^ever, and the vigorous steps taken to raise 
the necessary funds, the result w^as a humiliating failure, and at Commencement time the crew^, 
w^hich had been practicing diligently during the term, w^as forced to disband for w^ant of finan- 
cial support. Judging from the show^ing made in the local regatta, it was perhaps as w^ell that 
it w^as so, as far as any chance of w^inning at Springfield w^as concerned. 




Ferriss (capt.) 



Andei 



73 CREW AT QUARTERS 

Phillips Coulter (coach) 

King 

Dutton (not in picture) 



Southard 



Ostr( 



In '73, a crew^ had to be sent to Springfield, or Cornell w^ould cease to be a member of the 
Association. After strenuous effort on the part of the Navy, the necessary $1500w^ere raised, 
and a trainer w^as secured in the person of Harry Coulter, former single scull champion of the 
United States. President White manifested his interest by the gift of a new^ cedar shell. 
Coulter w^as himself preparing for a race, and the quarters at the corner of the lake sheltered 
as hard w^orking a band of oarsmen as ever vv^ent into preparation for a race. A member of 
the crewr tells us vv^hat a serious business training w^as. It consisted, he says, of long daily row^s 
morning and afternoon, supplemented by an hour's jaunt of w^alking and running in the mid- 
day sun, dressed in thick flannel shirts and swreaters. Upon returning to their quarters they 
w^ere put into bed for a half hour under several wrinter coverlets, preparatory to a thorough 
rubbing dov/n. The idea seems to have been to reduce every man in w^eight to the last possi- 

13 



ble extremity. Even the drinking of water was forbidden, and we are told that purgative 
w^ere at times resorted to in order to bring about the desired results. 

The crew left for Springfield the 24th of June, and at the outset their chances of victory, 
in spite of the ordeal through which they had passed, were thought by many to be equal to 
those of the favorites. Harvard and Amherst. But in the draw^ing Cornell drew^ a position from 
w^hich it w^as a foregone conclusion she could not w^in. As a religious journal had it, " When 
the pious lot w^as cast into the lap, the wicked crew^ (meaning Cornell) had the w^orst position." 




King 



Ferriss (capt.) 



VARSITY 1873 
Southard 



Phillips (sub.) 



Ostrom 



Ande 



It is interesting to note the criticisms by the Era, directed at the members of the crew before they left for Spring- 
field : " No. 1 (stroke) keeps his position well, but is rather cramped by the boat ; his reach is good and he feathers 
gracefully — in fact, all his points are w^ell kept. No. 2 is the most graceful of the crew in rowing. His reach is 
splendid, and he has good command of his oar. No. 3 same, about, as No. 2 ; perhaps is a trifle cooler. No. 4 is 
good in all respects and a very graceful rower. No. 5 is rather stiff in the back, but is gaining rapidly. In other 
respects excellent. No. 6 is a good bow oarsman, but in the old shell, which is not large enough to hold the crew, 
he does not have a fair chance." 



In addition to eddies to be contended w^ith, a shoal must be crossed where the w^ater w^as 
only a foot deep. In the race Cornell w^as in the lead until this shallow^ part w^as reached, but in 
crossing it she fell to about ninth place. " The crew^ put all the strength of their braw^ny arms 
into their oars, as they seemed to creep along over the shallow^ part ; but the harder they 
pulled the more they seemed to drag until at last they w^ere in deep w^ater again, and their pow^- 
erful stroke began to tell. Passing one boat after another, they w^ere leading the second group 
of boats as they neared the grandstand, and crossed the line in fourth place, Yale w^inning, 
w^ith Wesleyan second, and Harvard third." Under the circumstances, and w^ith eleven crew^s 
competing, fourth place w^as regarded as very creditable, and the Cornellians felt that their 
crewr w^as one of the best on the river. This year it w^as decided at the convention of the 
Rowing Association not to allow in future the employment of professional trainers. 

The following winter w^as passed in desultory attempts at organization, and not until the 
opening of the rowing season w^as anything definite know^n about the crew, although quarters 
had been engaged for the race at Saratoga (Springfield having been given up as a place for 
holding the regatta). Throughout the spring training was continued very much as in the 



preceding year, Captain Ostrom acting as coach. At Commencement time the crew left for 
Saratoga. Here everything seemed to go against them, and what w^ith sickness of tw^o of the 
members and inability to take sufficiently long practice spins, they entered the race without 
hope of w^inning. Columbia w^as first this time, w^ith Wesleyan second. Harvard third, Wil- 
liams fourth, and Cornell fifth (nine competitors). 

In the fall of '74 the Sprague Boat Club was organized to act as a counterbalance, within 
the Navy, of the Tom Hughes Club. A Fall Regatta w^as held in which a race betw^een the 
four class crew^s w^as advertised. In this race, w^hen about half of the course had been cov- 
ered, the '77 boat filled with water and began to sink. The '76 crew, which happened to be 




Henderson 



VARSITY 


1874 


Ostrom 


Myers 


Corwin 


King 



Southard 



Clark 



nearest to them, stopped row^ing and w^ent to their assistance, thus putting tw^o crew^s out of 
the race. Then the '75 crew^, after gaining a clear lead of tw^elve lengths, started to sink just 
before reaching the line and it prow^ was hurriedly turned tow^ard the shore. Thus the '78 
crew, w^hich w^ould have been last under normal conditions, actually v/on the race, and that, 
too, w^hen their bow^ oarsman had broken his oar v/ithin the first half mile and had partici- 
pated in the race only as a spectator. 

Nothing discouraged by previous defeats, John Ostrom, the " Old Man " of the early days, 
set the men vigorously to w^ork on the tw^o machines in the gymnasium through the w^inter of 
'74-' 75 (the "machines " consisted of sliding or greased seat, rope through pulley in floor 
and ceiling and w^eight in the cellar) and at the breaking up of the ice candidates^w^ere set 
to rowing in the Inlet, until in April a crew^ w^as selected. 



15 




Morse 



Jarvis 



WINNERS OF 74 CLASS REGATTA 

Thompson 
(coach) 



Camp 



Pain 



Heublln 



The success of the Freshmen in the Fall Regatta had encouraged them also to prepare a 
crew for Saratoga, and in this first Freshman crew appear the names of " Jack " Lew^is and 
" Al " Smith, now^ the director of Sibley College, and know^n as " Uncle Pete. " 

The coaching of a professional w^as denied, but fortunately Ostrom w^as well qualified for the 
w^ork. He w^as remarkable not only in devising a novel and effective style of row^ing in which 
a sharp, hard " catch " -was one of the principal features, but also remarkable in possessing 
great endurance and strength, and in being able to select men for the other seats in the tw^o 
boats w^ho vv^ere likew^ise enthusiastic, strong and determined. 

The methods of training a crew^ w^ere now entirely changed. The old w^alks and runs 
w^ere discontinued, the men were allow^ed to drink water freely, weight was kept up to the 
normal as far as possible, and training made a pleasure instead of a torture. 

In order that the Varsity and Freshman crews should gain as much experience as possi- 
ble, the Courtney crew of Union Springs was invited to a test of speed. This was looked upon 

16 




Ostrom (capt.) 
Barto 

Waterman 



VARSITY 1875 
King 



Jarvis 
GiUis 



Gardn 



as inviting disaster, but in the race which followed the University crew^ v^on a splendid victory 
and an immense amount of enthusiasm w^as aroused among the students as a result. 

In the Saratoga races the Cornell Freshmen surprised everybody by w^inning from Harvard, 
Browm and Princeton. From last place Jack Lew^is' steady rowring and sturdy arm forced his 
creviT to third place, thence to second, and in the last quarter to victory. 

Thirteen contestants lined up in the Varsity race- From the time the wrord w^as given to 
the finish of the three miles the struggle for mastery betvs^een the leaders, Cornell, Columbia, 
and Harvard w^as a desperate one. Spurt followed spurt, until w^ith a final burst of speed, 
Cornell shot over the line a w^inner. The order of finish w^as as follow^s : Cornell, Columbia, 
Harvard, Dartmouth, Wesleyan, Yale, Amherst, Browm, Williams, Bow^doin, Hamilton, Union 
and Princeton (Princeton stopped row^ing at about the tw^o-mile point). 

Enthusiastic Cornellians rushed into the w^ater and lifting the oarsmen from the boat 
marched w^ith them upon their shoulders up and down in front of the grandstand. Upon 
their return to Saratoga the w^ildest demonstration ensued, and the Cornell oarsmen w^ere the 
heroes of the hour. A great dinner w^as given to them at w^hich w^ere present the captains of 
all the crews. A palace car w^as provided for the trip home, and the journey was like a 
triumphal procession. At Ithaca a great arch had been erected on the campus, and the tow^n 
turned out en masse to join in the w^elcome. 

There have been various versions given as to the origin of the present Cornell yell. One 
has it that it w^as first given at the finish of the Freshman race ; another that it burst forth 
spontaneously w^hen the new^s came to the stand in the Varsity race that Cornell w^as leading 



17 



at the half-mile stake. As a 
matter of fact, no organized yell 
was given by the thirty or forty 
Cornellians in the stand during 
the time of the races. It was 
while covering the three or four 
miles to Saratoga that various 
yells -were tried, one of w^hich, 





Smith 



FRESHMAN 75 

Grave Carpenter 

Borden (sub.) Lewis 

Camp Palmer 



JOHN N. OSTROM 

The "Old Man" of the '70"s 



Cornell-ell-ell-ell, Cornell, was developed into Cornell, 
I yell, yell, yell, Cornell, and was publicly given for 
the first time as the two bus loads of Cornellians drew 
up before the hotel in Saratoga. It w^as mentioned in 
the newspapers as being the first time a Cornell yell 
had been heard.* 



* The above version was given to the writer by Mr. R. H. Treman 
"78, who was in the grandstand at the time, and was a participant 
in subsequent events. He wras in the leading bus on the return to 
Saratoga and called to those in the rear bus to come up and try a yell 
they had been practicing. 



18 




VARSITY RACE AT SARATOGA IN 1875 (Three MUes) 



1 he centennial year brought a second series of sweeping victories. Lewis and Smith 
"were moved to the Varsity boat to replace the tw^o w^ho had graduated, and as thus made up, 
the crew^ reached even higher practice speed than had the one of the preceding year. The 
Freshman crew^ was no less promising, and to complete the list C. S. Francis, w^hose name for 
the next tw^enty years was to be closely associated w^ith Cornell row^ing, w^as selected to rep- 
resent Cornell in single sculls. In '73 C. S. Dutton had competed in singles and in '74 W. L. 
Phillips, but success had not attended their efforts. When the eventful day at last arrived, 
the very remarkable fact occurred that Cornell took the lead at the start in each event and 
maintained it to the finish. 

Francis w^on his race handily, being the great single sculler of his day among the colle- 
gians. His time for the two miles wras 1 3 minutes 42 3/4 seconds, w^hich established an inter- 
collegiate record for the distance, and has not since been equalled. 

In the Freshman race against Harvard and Columbia, the latter vsras hopelessly out of the 
race before tw^o miles had been covered, and Harvard lagged on many lengths in the rear. 
The Varsity w^on in a field of six contestants. The coaching of this crew^ w^as assisted in by 
E. Le B. Gardner '75, a substitute of the preceding year, w^ho w^as appointed to an instructor- 
ship in Sibley College after graduation. The unprecedented series of victories of '75 and '76 
w^ere undoubtedly largely attributable, however, to the sound judgment and untiring efforts of 
John N. Ostrom, stroke and captain for the tw^o years. 

19 



The return of the winning crew 
to Saratoga w^as a most elaborate and 
superb affair. TTie trip home was 
again one long ovation, being w^hat 
Dr. Potter termed " Cornell's annual 
parade." Ithaca simply w^ent wild 
upon their arrival, forming a proces- 
sion a mile long and assembling a 
crowd of several thousand persons in 
the park to hear speeches and join in 
the celebration. 





C. S. FRANCIS 

Harvard now w^ithdrew^ from the Row^ing 
Association of American Colleges as had Yale 
the previous year, these two deciding in the 
future to row^ by themselves. The New^ York 
Times in speaking of this w^ithdrawal on their 
part said, " It cannot be denied that the remark- 
able and altogether shameless conduct of Cor- 
nell in making a clean sweep of everything in 
the Centennial Regatta is an excellent proof of 
the sagacity of certain colleges in retiring from 
a conflict in w^hich apparently they consider 
they have no chance." Yale went so far as to 
say that the natural advantages at Cornell w^ere 
such that other colleges could not hope to beat 
them — which may or may not be true. 



•Jack" LEWIS 



20 




VARSITY 1876 
Ostrom Smith Jarvis 

Waterman Barto Lewis 

(D.) King (sub.) Palmer (sub.) 



In '77 Cornell w^as un- 
successful in securing a sin- 
gle race. Harvard in the 
spring of '78 sent a chal- 
lenge for a University race, 
but too late to be consid- 
ered. Finally during this 
same spring, after all hope 
of a race had been given 
up and practice had been 
practically abandoned. 
Harvard accepted the 
Freshman challenge of ear- 
lier date, and a race was 
arranged to be held at 
Ensenore on Owasco Lake. 
A crew w^as immediately 
selected and whipped into 
shape by Varsity oarsmen, 
assisted at intervals by 
Gardner. As the race w^as 
to be row^ed in "eights," 




Ostrom (capt) 



VARSITY 1876 
Jarvis Smith 



Barto 



Waterman 



21 




Gregory 





FRESHMAN 76 


Warner 


Mason 




Baker 


Wilcox 


Dounce 



Doggett 



(sub.) 



and was Cornell's first venture in a boat of that description, a new boat w^as ordered and 
pending its arrival practice begun in an "eight " kindly loaned by Columbia. The Freshman 
crews of '75 and '76 w^ere extraordinary ones, but that of '78 w^as a phenomenal one. Shinkel 
the stroke, w^ho was afterwards to achieve an unenviable notoriety, w^as yet possessed of rare 
qualities as an oarsman ; a cool head and w^onderful strength of muscle, backed up by pure 
grit. The race proved to be one of the old time processions, as the Cornell crew^ w^as never 
headed and w^on by something over three lengths. 

The reception of the Freshman eight by students and tow^nspeople did not equal^ 
perhaps, those accorded to the crew^s of earlier dates, but as the Era comments, "the 
hospitable village of Ithaca again displayed its good w^ill tow^ards the victors in a w^ay that 
could leave no doubt as to the friendly relations between " tow^n and gow^n " in at least one 
American tow^n." 

In '79 a Cornell four-oared crew^ w^as defeated on Lake George by Columbia and Wes- 
leyan, which was the first University defeat since '74. Before this race the Era said : "Too 

22 




FRESHMAN 78 

Cole Shinkel Allen 

Curtice Cowles Jayne Walerbury 

Foster Ellstun Arnold 



much confidence in the Cornell stroke, and overconfidence in Cornell muscle, has led to an 
indifference that cannot help but be disastrous, and we do not hesitate to declare that if Cornell 
is defeated in the coming regatta, it will be the best thing that could possibly happen for 
future crew^s at Cornell. " A premonition of coming disaster had come as the result of a 
defeat at the hands of a Watkins crew^ earlier in the term. By urgent request of the crew^ 
and others, Ostrom came back about commencement time full of hope as to the possibilities 
that might be developed by a few^ w^eeks of earnest, careful w^ork. He found the crew^ hope- 
lessly fixed in their ow^n style and methods of row^ing, however ; after he had vainly tried to 
urge upon them certain reforms, and even protested against the trip to Lake George because 
of their w^retched preparation, they entered the race, as he afterwards w^rote, " over-confident 
of their ow^n pow^ers, and indifferent to those of their competitors." 

In the Fall Regatta of this year another farcical race took place. The class of '80 w^as 
represented by a six-oared crew^ in an eight-oared boat and carrying a coxsw^ain, w^hile '8 1 
and '82 row^ed in six-oared boats. The sport began by a collision betw^een '80 and '8 1 , 
shortly after w^hich '8 1 s shell suddenly broke in the middle, the tw^o ends going high up in 
the air. After rounding the stake, '82's boat sank about a quarter of a mile from the finish, 
w^hile the crew^ in the eight-oared shell crossed the line high and dry. 

23 




Ma 



Jayne 



VARSITY 1879 
Ostrom Shinkel Lewis 



Allen Warner 



As a result of the defeat of the '79 
crew, the opening of the season of 1 880 
was inauspicious for the Navy. After the 
hardest kind of w^ork on the part of a few^ 
row^ing enthusiasts, a crew^ w^as again 
entered for the Lake George Regatta, this 
time to meet Columbia and Pennsylvania. 
Columbia w^as the favorite, having w^on the 
year before and having already defeated 
Pennsylvania in a race on the Schuylkill. 
The Pennsylvania four w^as a perfect row^- 
ing machine, having been coached by the 
veteran oarsman, Ellis Ward, but it lacked 
the dash and tremendous pow^er of the 
Cornell crew^, and lost the race by a narrow^ 
margin. Columbia came in a poor third. 




The Old Gymnasmm Remodeled 



24 



In 1 88 1 the victors of the Lake George Regatta were sent to compete in the Henley races, 
where after five weeks' training they lost the three contests in w^hich they ■were entered. 
They w^ere not allow^ed to row^ in the college race w^hich they especially desired to enter, and 
in the other races w^ere pitted against the best boat clubs in England. English oarsmen w^ere 
fair enough to give Cornell the compliment of sending out the best college crew^ in the w^orld. 




Read (sub.) 



Shinkel 



VARSITY 1880 and 1881 

Lewis 



Cowle 



Alle 



The crew^ also row^ed in a regatta on the Danube at Vienna, in w^hich, after gaining 
a lead of four or five lengths, the stroke fainted or pretended to faint. It is hardly necessary 
to go into details of the w^retched affair. The Era summed the w^hole matter up by saying : 
" We w^ere beaten in England by the best crews in the world aided by circumstances very 
unfavorable to us. We w^ere beaten at Vienna through the treachery of a member of our 
crew^. Humiliating as this admission is, w^e believe it to be true, and in justice to the other 
members of the crew the facts should be known." 

As a result of this experience upon foreign w^aters and the debt entailed by the trip, the 
Fall and Winter of '8 1 w^as the darkest period of the Navy. It w^as not decided until six w^eeks 
before the Lake George Regatta that a crew^ could be sent. Practice w^as then being held in 
an " eight," and the four-oared shell that had been ordered w^as not delivered until tw^o w^eeks 
before the race. In the race, Cornell took the lead and held it for part of the first mile, from 
w^hich position she gradually fell to fourth place. Princeton w^as leading at the last quarter, 
but w^as forced to give w^ay to Wesleyan, when suddenly Pennsylvania by a burst of speed 
passed the tw^o and w^on the race, Cornell and Bow^doin coming in last. 

In '83 Cornell had one of the best " fours " in her history. In a regatta at Cazenovia, she 
defeated an Elmira four and Syracuse. In this race, shortly after the start, Cornell's rudder 
broke, but the bow^ oarsman simply told the men to foIlow^ his instructions, and pull light or 
strong as he directed. A spectator w^ould have observed nothing unusual, and the boat w^ent 
straight for the finish buoys, losing little distance by the mishap. 

25 




Reed 



Cowle 



VARSITY 1882 



Swarwout 



TuthiU 



Holman 



At the Lake George Regatta, Cornell competed with what w^ere said to have been the 
strongest crew^s she had ever met. The Princeton " four " had defeated several boat clubs, 
and her trainer pronounced them " the fastest crew^ in America." Pennsylvania also had 
defeated the Crescents in record time on the Schuylkill. Cornell had received ten days 
coaching from Courtney, and final touches during the few^ days at Lake George by 
C. S. Francis, but otherw^ise w^ere self-taught. Nevertheless, they astonished the row^ing 
w^orld by defeating Princeton and Pennsylvania by 32 seconds, Pennsylvania coming in 
second, and the " fastest crew^ in America " third. 

The '84 crew vs^as again coached for a period by Courtney, and w^as thought to be faster 
even than the crew^ of the preceding year. Nevertheless, tw^o races w^ere loss to Pennsylvania, 
one on the Schuylkill by three-quarters of a second, after a quarter-mile spurt, and the other 
at Lake George, where only a foot separated the tw^o prow^s at the finish. For the last hundred 
yards of this race each boat had gone ahead w^ith the stroke, neither being able to gain an 
advantage, and in this position the line w^as crossed, making it the closest intercollegiate race 
on record. 



26 




VARSITY 1883 

Raht Scofield 

Chase Courtney Swartwout (capt.) 

Wilcox 



Beginning with the year 
1 885, Cornell entered upon 
a series of victories, Varsity 
and Freshman, which is 
perhaps w^ithout parallel in 
the history of college row- 
ing. As a matter of fact, 
after the '78 race with 
Harvard there wras no 
Freshman crew^ sent out 
from Ithaca until 1 890 and 
the first Freshman crew^ to 
be defeated w^as in the year 
1897, when Yale and Har- 
vard both crossed the line 
ahead of her. But between 
the years 1 884 and 1 895, no 
Varsity crew^ w^as defeated, 
although row^ing in every 
year except '86. This may 
be said to have been largely 
due to the excellent coach- 
ing of Charles E. Courtney. 
Although his position as 
permanent coach did not 
begin until the year 1 889, 
yet he assisted in the train- 
ing for five or six years 




ilTnfWrit iiiiiiiiiiiilil' 

COURTNEY, IN RACING TRIM 
27 





Corndl 



Barney 



VARSITY 1884 
Scofield Raht 



Howland 



Church 



previous to that time, and his advice had been a determining factor. His methods, 
it need hardly be said, were those suggested by common-sense. He was constantly 
learning, and this know^ledge backed up by skill in building and rigging boats, and splendid 
judgment in the selection of crew^s from the available candidates, soon combined to establish 
at Cornell a system w^hich w^ill probably continue as long as intercollegiate rowing exists. 

In 1 885 Cornell w^on from Pennsylvania on the Schuylkill, lowrering the record for the 
course. In a regatta held upon Lake Quinsigamond, at Worcester, Mass., her crew^ finished 
first in a field of four, but was ruled out on account of fouling w^ith Bow^doin. Bowdoin's 
course w^as a very irregular one and it appeared to impartial critics that she was the offender 
if blame vs^ere to be placed upon any one. At any rate, at one point in the race the oars of the 
tw^o boats interlocked ; neither lost but a second, and both started again, Cornell winning, 
■with Brow^n second, Bov/doin third, and Pennsylvania fourth. Bowdoin protested the race, 
how^ever, and much to everybody's surprise, Cornell and Pennsylvania w^ere barred out entirely 
(the former for coming in first, probably, and the latter for coming in last), and Brown and 
Bow^doin told to row again to decide the v^inner. This race w^as w^on by Bowdoin. 

In '86 a crev/ w^as selected and w^ent into training, but at the last moment its entry was 
v^ithdrawn, w^hether because of lack of funds or for other reasons is not clearly stated. The 
reputation of the Navy w^as upheld by the victory of H. S. Howland in the Junior single scull 



28 




VARSITY 1885 
Scofield Olmstead Howland Holman 

event at the National Regatta. He was pitted against severalof the fastest amateurs in the 
country, but crossed the Une well in the lead, after a "stern chase" throughout almost the entire 
length of the course. 

In 1887 Cornell w^on a race at New^ark, on the Passaic, against three boat clubs, and at 
Worcester defeated Bow^doin by less than three feet over a mile and a half course, after a 
struggle w^hich left both crew^s completely exhausted and hardly, able to maintain their seats. 
The Cornell crew had been coached by Albert Hamm and John Teemer, tvvro professional 
oarsmen w^ho w^ere preparing for the National championship. 

29 




Peck 



VARSITY 1887 

Stianahan Balch 

Teemer (coach) Psotta 



Fieldei 



The following year Cornell row^ed her last Varsity race in a " four, " defeating Pennsylva- 
nia and the New York Row^ing Club at Philadelphia. The crew^ w^as accompanied by Court- 
ney, and because of their diminutive size as compared w^ith other crews, had been nicknamed 
before the race " Courtney's babies. " In the first race (two heats w^ere row^ed on successive 
days) one of the " babies " slipped his seat at the start and they w^ere five lengths in the rear 
w^hen they finally got off. Nevertheless, the " babies " w^on the race, and within a few^ seconds 
of the best record ever made on the course. 

For the first time in the history of American boating a college student, Commodore Psotta 
of the Cornell Navy, this year w^on the amateur championship of America in Senior singles at 
the National Regatta. The next year he row^ed at the Henley Regatta, w^inning the two pre- 
liminary heats, but losing in the finals. In one of the heats, Psotta's opponent ran into some 
skiffs, but Psotta stopped rov/ing, w^aited for him to catch up, and then spurted ahead and 
w^on the race. He entered the finals a sick man, having lost thirty pounds during his six 
vvreeks' stay in England, and his pluck and skill w^ere everywhere commented upon. 

In '89 Cornell w^as represented by her first Varsity "eight." TTie historic crews of the '76 
period w^ere six-oared and, w^ith the exception of a Freshman " eight, " from that time on -were 
four-oared. A three-mile race w^as arranged w^ith Columbia and Pennsylvania at Ne-w London. 
Cornell w^on, but the Cornell and Columbia boats lapped each other almost the entire distance, 
and only nine seconds separated them from Pennsylvania. Cornell also -won the Sharpless 
cup against two boat clubs at Philadelphia, and on the following day won the Child's cup 
against Pennsylvania, in which race a w^orld's record of 6 minutes 40 seconds was established 
for one and a half miles. 

30 




McComb 



VARSITY 188 
Thayer Dolla 



Tobey (capt.) 




VARSITY 1889 

Barker (sub.) Marston Hagerman Healey (sub.) 

Colnon Tobey Courtney Thayer (capt.) Benedict 

Ross Dole Ejnerick 

31 



The success of the '89 
crew created great enthusi- 
asm, and for the following 
year a Freshman crew^ in 
addition to the Varsity w^as 
decided upon. The Varsity 
crew^ had no difficulty in de- 
feating Bow^doin in a race 
on Cayuga Lake. They also 
w^on from Pennsylvania at 
New^ London, establishing 
a record of 14 minutes 43 
seconds for the three miles. 
Entering upon the second 
mile of this race, stroke 
Dole's oar struck a w^ave, 
and it flew^ from his grasp, 
striking him on his chest 
and knocking him back- 
w^ard. No. 7 (Upton) row^ed 
one stroke over his prostrate 
form and at the next pushed 
him back into place, so that 
he caught his oar and w^ent 
on w^ithout a break, the boat 
meanw^hile maintaining its 
lead and w^inning by tw^o 
lengths. 




VARSITY 1890 
Emerick Dole Upton Hagerman Marslon Hill Wolfe Benedict (capt.) Osgood 

A Freshman race was arranged with Columbia and, ow^ing to a misunderstanding on the 
part of Yale and Harvard, Yale w^as admitted to a triangular contest. The Yale Freshmen 
were a staWart crew^, and w^ere expected by their partisans to give a good account of them- 
selves. The race attracted a good deal of attention as being the first opportunity to compare 
the Courtney and Cook methods. 

From the start the Cornell Freshmen jumped into the lead, increasing it to tw^o lengths 
over Yale at the end of the first mile and three at the finish, establishing a record of I I minutes 
16 1/4 seconds for Freshman crew^s. Yale led Columbia by one length. Bob Cook is reported 
to have said as the flag dropped at the finish, " I never w^ant to see that stroke again." 

In '91 both Varsity and Freshman crew^s w^ere up to the usual standard, the Freshman 
defeating Columbia at New^ London, and the Varsity w^inning from Pennsylvania and Colum- 
bia in the w^orld's record time of 14 minutes 27 1/2 seconds. As the Columbia Freshmen 
defeated Yale and Harvard, Cornell held the undoubted supremacy in the Freshman crew^s. 







CORNELL BOATHOUSE (AS BUILT IN 1890) 



CORNELL LAUNCH 



32 




VARSITY 1891 
Allen Wltherbee Marston Kelley Wagner Hill Wolfe (capt.) Benedict Young 

Both races were held on Cayuga Lake the next year. The Columbia Freshmen were de- 
feated by 7 1 /2 lengths and the Pennsylvania Varsity by 5 lengths. The New^ York Athletic 
Club w^as also defeated by the Varsity on the Passaic River, in w^hich race the record for the 
course w^as low^ered by tw^elve seconds. Through a misunderstanding of the signal, Cornell 
w^as tw^o lengths behind at the start, but the distance w^as made up in the first half mile. 




VARSITY 1892 
Kelley Barr Wagner Dole Marston (capt.) Witherbee Gilson Hall Allen 



In '93 the Columbia Freshmen w^ere defeated at New London by 1 1 lengths, and the 
Pennsylvania Varsity, coached by Mr. Woodruff, Yale's famous oarsman, w^as defeated at Lake 
Minnetonka, in Minnesota, by 2 1 /2 lengths in the first four-mile contest. The Cornell crew^ 
row^ed in an aluminum boat by w^ay of experiment, the metal being manufactured by Cow^les 
of the '8 1 Henley crew^, but the change did not commend itself as being advantageous. 

33 




VARSITY 1893 
Sherman Hall Gilson Troy Shape Robbins Hagar Ban (capl.) Freeborn 

The Pennsylvania Varsity was again defeated in '94 at Philadelphia, while the Freshmen 
defeated the Dauntless Boat Club of New^ York on Cayuga Lake. Dow^n to this time, Cornell 
had w^on 1 9 Varsity races at home and lost 6. 




George Pease Witherbee, to whose memory the With- 
erbee Club House on Percy Field was erected, was 
drow^ned on Lake Champlain in the summer of '92. While 
out sailing with a party of boys, the yacht was capsized by 
a sudden squall. The boat was heavily ballasted with iron, 
and immediately sank. Witherbee, true to the manly 
spirit which always characterized him, endeavored to save 
one of his companions and lost his life in the attempt. 
" One of Cornell's best students, ablest athletes (captain of 
the Football Team for the following year), and a true 
gentleman." 



GEORGE PEASE WITHERBEE 



34 




Hagar 



Shape 



Carver 



Brown (Com.) 
Robbins Hall (capt.) 




AUe 



Freeborn (F. W.) Hamilton (sub.) 

Dyer Troy (sub.) 

Freeborn (A. C.) 



' Walt " Fowler 



Because of her long list of victories, it was decided in 1 895 
to send a crew to compete in the Henley Regatta. The Henley 
course is one mile 550 yards in length. The crew^ left about six 
w^eeks before the time of the races. The first heat w^as against 
Leander and w^as w^on on a Huke, the Leanders not row^ing more 
than a half dozen strokes and protesting the start, w^hich protest, 
how^ever, w^as not allow^ed. The second heat w^as against Trinity 
Hall, a Cambridge eight, and at about the mile post, w^hen in the 
lead, a Cornell man caught a crab w^hich knocked the oar out of 
his hand, and the crew^ w^ent to pieces, thus ending another ex- 
cursion to foreign w^aters in humiliating failure. 

Concerning the Leander incident, there is no question but 
that the crew^ acted under its legal rights in accepting the deci- 
sion of the Stewards as final, but it failed never the less to do 

35 




Colsi 



Hall 



HENLEY CREW ON THE THAMES 1893 

Dyer Fennell Freeborn (capt.) Hagar 



Spillman Roe 



the right thing, whatever may be urged in extenuation. The crew and its advisers certainly 
failed accurately to appreciate the sentiment of English row^ing men regarding the extent to 
w^hich courtesy as opposed to law^ or technicality should prevail in such an emergency. 
A great opportunity w^as sacrificed in not at once insisting upon another start, or at least 
offering Leander the chance to row^ in another race. 




HENLEY— BETWEEN HEATS 
36 




HENLEY-FINISH OF COURSE 

In explanation of their position, the members of the crew gave out the following state- 
ment prior to their departure from England : 

" In view of the discussion over the action of the Cornell crew in Tuesday's race, w^e 
believe the position of the Cornell crew in the matter should be clearly defined. The 
umpire, as w^e interpret the rules of racing, has entire control of a race after it has been 
started, and to disregard his command is sufficient reason to disqualify a crew^. On Tuesday 
the usual question ' Are you ready ? ' w^as asked, and as no negative reply was heard by the 
umpire from either crew, the w^ord ' Go ' w^as given. Cornell started and Leander also drew^ 
aw^ay from the post. We soon discovered that Leander had stopped row^ing, but the umpire 
did not recall us, nor did he in any -way indicate his desire to have us return. Had he done 
so w^e v^ould have stopped at any point on the course. He follow^ed us to the finish, and 
aw^arded us the heat. 

" Under the rules governing racing as w^e understand them, had Cornell not row^ed over 
the course, ^ve w^ould have been liable to disqualification from entry into any subsequent heat, 
and thereby debarred from further competition for the grand challenge contest. No one can 
regret the outcome of this lamentable affair more than the members of the Cornell crew^. 
They certainly did not come to England to claim a race from Leander or any other 
crev^r by default. 

" The crew^ has never authorized any statement to the effect that Cornell wrould not 
consider a proposition for another trial betwreen Leander and ourselves. How^ever, w^e did 



37 



not feel at liberty to suggest a contest until after the subsequent heats had been decided. It 
certainly would have been premature on the part of Cornell to take any action in the matter 
before the result of the subsequent heat in which Cornell w^as to row^, since Leander 
w^ould undoubtedly not care to row^ us had w^e been defeated by another crew^. So far as 
Cornell is concerned in connection w^ith the grand challenge cup, w^e acknow^ledge our defeat 
after a hard race with Trinity Hall. We have no excuses to offer ; w^e w^ere fairly beaten, and 
w^e take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the English public for the many 
courtesies extended to us during our five w^eeks' sojourn in their country." 

(Signed) " Freeborn." 

Thus closes a second chapter in the history of Cornell rowing. May the third have a 
more auspicious ending ! 



POUGHKEEPSIE CREW 1895 
Slade Chriswell Moore Crawford Johnston Sanborn Tatum Troy Richardson 

At home, in the initial regatta held at Poughkeepsie, Cornell also suffered defeat. The 
race vv^as row^ed in very rough w^ater, Pennsylvania's shell sinking at the three mile point, and 
Cornell's just after crossing the line live lengths behind Columbia. The Freshman crew^ w^on 
from Pennsylvania on Cayuga Lake.* 

There has been considerable discussion as to w^hether or not the Cornell stroke w^as 
materially altered as a result of the Henley experience. A very illuminating letter from 
President B. I. Wheeler of California University, formerly professor at Cornell, and, w^ith the 
exception of the trip abroad, in charge of Cornell boating interests for many years, may be 
cited on this point : " There is no doubt, " he says, " that our crew in the Henley year tried 
a sharper, quicker stroke, having some regard to the shortness of the Henley course, and that 
in following years the stroke w^as gradually lengthened out. Mr. Courtney at the time told 
me that the stroke accommodated itself to the convenience and pow^er of the men w^ho 

*During Courtney's absence abroad with the Henley crew, his place w^as ably filled by Fred R. White of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, a senior in the Law School and Manager of the Football team. He had also directed the work of the 
Freshman crew the previous year. 

38 



happened to be in the boat, particularly the stroke oar. There can be no doubt, however, 
that the Cornell stroke vvras a much longer and slower stroke in the years succeeding 
Henley, but it must be remembered that in 1897 and 1898 a stroke oar of characteristic figure 
sat in the boat, and he w^as not unlikely to be a very determining factor in w^hat the crew^ did. 
In training his crew^s Mr. Courtney rarely paid attention to the number of strokes a minute, 
further than to note the fact. He rarely, if ever, gave any directions as to the length of the 
stroke or the time. I have been w^ith him so much on the coaching launch that I can vouch 
for this much. If you can solve the riddle of the fact of the lengthened stroke you can 
certainly do more than I can." This view^ w^ould seem to bear out the contention of Cornell 
oarsmen and of Mr. Courtney himself, that the stroke has aWays been fundamentally the 
same w^ith the exception of slight modifications, but that its length or rapidity is largely deter- 
mined by the individual characteristics of the members of the crew^. 

In '96, ow^ing to another interruption of athletic relations betw^een Yale and Harvard and 
largely through the efforts of Professor H. S. White of the Cornell Faculty (Harvard '73), a tw^o 
year row^ing agreement w^as made w^ith Harvard, and Pennsylvania and Columbia w^ere 
invited to join in a four cornered race, Poughkeepsie being agreed upon as the place for 
holding the regatta. 

Casper Whitney conceded this race to Harvard, as being the fastest and smoothest 
row^ing crew^ on the river. How^ever, if Columbia, w^ith seven of her last year's crew^, 
improved as she had the power of doing, she might surprise them all, w^hile Cornell, he 
said, could hardly be expected to maintain her excellent form and speed after tw^o miles. 

The Freshmen won their race in magnificent form, although at the second stroke, her 
bow^ oarsman's lock spread and for the greater part of the tw^o miles his attention w^as con- 
centrated upon the oar for fear that contact w^ith the rough w^ater w^ould throw^ it from the 
lock. In the Varsity race. Harvard led for the first mile, and was even with Cornell at the 




Ludla 



Chri 



VARSITY 1896 
(Immediately after race at Poughkeepsie) 
Moore Freeborn (capt.) Savage Spillman Talum 



Briggs 



39 



second, but from that point, Cornell gradually forged to the front, winning by something over 
two lengths, and establishing a record of 19 minutes 29 seconds for the four miles. Harvard 
was second, Pennsylvania third and Columbia fourth. 




VARSITY 1897 
Colson Briggs Savage Spillman Odell King Moore Bentley Wakeman 



The follow^ing year athletic relations w^ere resumed betw^een Harvard and Yale. At 
Harvard's suggestion, Cornell acquiesced in a three-cornered race to be held at Poughkeepsie, 
the request of the Cornell Council that Pennsylvania and Columbia be also invited to participate, 
not being assented to. The Harvard crew^ w^as this year coached by Mr. Lehman, the famous 
English oarsman. At the time of the race, he regarded the Harvard crew^ as a fair average 
of a good Oxford or Cambridge crew^. Bob Cook, the Yale coach, considered Harvard's 
crew^ the fastest she had ever had, and that the race w^as in doubt as betw^een Harvard and 
Yale. 

TTie race itself was described by a metropolitan paper somewhat as follows : Yale started 
behind Harvard, but after a dozen strokes they w^ere as nearly level as possible. Cornell was 
half a length in the rear and w^ould of course disappear entirely, then for a minute all were 
even. At the mile, it looked as if Cornell w^ere leading; at the mile and a half Yale w^as half 
a length ahead of Harvard, and from that point it w^as a continual struggle betw^een the two 
for second honors. Cornell w^as rowring w^ith perfect smoothness and ease, but she seemed 
constantly to gain. At the tw^o mile and a half point she led Yale by tw^o lengths, w^hich w^as 
gradually increased to four at the finish, with Harvard 3-12 lengths behind Yale. Harvard's 
stroke fainted as the line vsras reached, and several others were on the point of collapse, but 
the other crews seemed little the worse for the four mile struggle. 

One correspondent said that Cornell won the race with so little seeming effort that one 
could hardly believe she wasn't rowing in a steam launch. Bob Cook said it was, with the 
exception of Henley, the first real race Yale had rowed in for ten years, and that it was a 
contest in which Yale might well feel proud to have come in second. 

40 



In the Freshman race, Cornell lost for the first time in the history of her Freshman crews, 
Yale and Harvard both crossing the line in front of her and all three crews breaking the 
record for two miles. 

A week later the Freshmen defeated Pennsylvania and Columbia in a terrific struggle, 
w^hile the Varsity defeated Columbia by ten lengths, Pennsylvania sw^amping at about the tw^o 
and a half mile point. Earlier in the year the Cornell second Varsity defeated the Naval 
Cadets at Annapolis over a tw^o mile course by about two lengths. 




VARSITY 1898 
Colson Briggs Savage Beardslee Moore Bailey Walceman Bentley Dalzell 







'Freddie" Briggs at New London 1898 
(Before the Race) 



In '98, the arrangement of the preceding year continued, 
except that the race vv^ith Yale and Harvard w^as held at Ne-w 
London. Mr. Lehman returned to coach Harvard, and Yale 
joined in the race. 

The struggle for first place w^as again betw^een Yale and 
Cornell, the latter w^inning by I 4 seconds. The Freshman race 
w^as also a repetition of the previous year's contest, the result 
being in doubt until the very last, and the three boats lapping 
as they crossed the line, Yale first. Harvard second, and Cornell 
third. 

A wreek later came the Saratoga Regatta in w^hich the Var- 
sity race w^as won by Pennsylvania by three lengths, Wisconsin 
third, but fighting it out writh Cornell for second place, and 
Columbia fourth. At the mile point Wisconsin led slightly, 
but the four boats w^ere neck and neck. Cornell gained on 



41 



FINISH AT NEW LONDON 1898 

(Cornell) (Yale) 



(Harvard) 



Wisconsin, but before the two mile post was reached the Pennsylvania boat w^ent ahead w^ith 
a rush, w^hile Columbia w^as gradually dropping to the rear. The Pennsylvania men responded 
gamely to the calls of their coxsw^ain and from the beginning of the last mile slow^ly increased 
their lead. There w^as a glorious sprint dow^n the stretch betvs^een Wisconsin and Cornell, 
the former being slightly in the lead as they entered on the last quarter but losing out by three 
quarters of a length. Columbia w^as about four lengths behind Wisconsin. The Freshmen 
w^on from Columbia and Pennsylvania by eight lengths. 




On Decoration Day in 1 899 a race w^as held on Cayuga Lake 
betw^een the Junior Varsities of Pennsylvania and Cornell, the 
latter winning by three-quarters of a length. Yale and Harvard 
this year resumed their dual contests at New^ London, w^hile 
Cornell continued her races on the Hudson in the Poughkeep- 
sie Regatta. Three events w^ere held — Varsity, Freshman, and 
Four-oared. The first w^as largely betw^een Pennsylvania and 
Wisconsin, the splendid rowing of the latter being sacrificed by 
the bad steering of her coxsw^ain. Cornell w^as third and Colum- 
bia fourth. Pennsylvania also w^on the Four-oared race but lost 
the Freshman to Cornell. 



Freddie" Briggs at New London 1898 
(After the Race) 



42 




^ 


^H^^^^^7;:::: 


'^-: -^ mm 


^^■■r^^ 




~-sJI& - 


Var 


■j^a^^M^ssafc'SnwHP' 


Smallwood Hartley 
derhoef DalzeU 


VARSITY 1899 
Beardslee Lyon 
Sweetland King 
Fisher (capt.) 


Gould (com.) 

Robbins 


Courtney 

Wakeman 





It was felt throughout the season of '99 that the Varsity crew w^as not up to the standard, and 
its defeat at the hands of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin was not so much of a surprise. Such 
-was not the case the year following, however, when Cornell failed to win a race. At the 
Decoration Day Regatta in Philadelphia she was represented by her Freshman crew, and came 
in second, w^ith Pennsylvania first and Columbia third. The Varsity race at Poughkeepsie 
"was again w^on by Pennsylvania, w^ith Wisconsin second, Cornell third, Columbia fourth, 
and Georgetow^n fifth. The Freshman race w^as w^on by Wisconsin, w^hile the four-oared went 
to Pennsylvania in the record time of I minutes 31 1/5 seconds. 

The years of 1900 and 1901 w^itnessed a revival of interest in college aquatics. Not since 
the Saratoga days of '75 and '86 had so many Varsity crew^s been training for the Poughkeepsie 
Regatta. In 1901 Syracuse w^as represented by a Varsity " eight," bringing the number of con- 
testants in this event up to six. Cornell this year resumed her position of supremacy, w^inning 
the main event in the w^orld's record time of 18 minutes 53 1/5 seconds; also the four-oared 
lace against Columbia and Pennsylvania, and losing the Freshman race only through one of 
her oars jumping the lock, she being w^ell in the lead at the mile and three-quarter point, 
-where the accident occurred. 

The winter of 1900 witnessed the presentation of a magnificent cup by the Chicago Alumni for class competi- 
tion, w^hich has been annually contested for in a fall regatta. 



43 




VARSITY 1900 
Long Robbins Dalzell Ccapt.) Francis Smallwood Beardslee Petty Vanderhoef Hartley 

The Decoration Day Regatta on Cayuga had also been won by Cornell, -with Columbia 
second and Pennsylvania third. 

On Decoration Day of 1 902 crews w^ere entered in tw^o regattas, one against Syracuse and 
the New^ell Club of Harvard on Cayuga, w^hich w^as w^on by Cornell ; and one against Penn- 
sylvania and Columbia on the Schuylkill, "which w^as w^on by Pennsylvania, with Cornell third. 

Cornell w^on first place in the three events at the Poughkeepsie Regatta, being represented 
by a Varsity crew w^hich Courtney said -was the finest row^ing crew he had ever seen and 
capable of going faster than any crew^ that had ever represented Cornell. 




The fall of '99 was marked by the appointment of Fred D. Colson, 
B. L. '97, LL. B. '98, as assistant coach to Mr. Courtney. He has 
continued in that capacity until the present, at the same time carrying 
on the work of an instructorship in the Law School, with the excep- 
tion of the spring term of 1904, when he was given a leave of 
absence to enable him to assist in coaching the crew at Harvard 
University. 



F. D. Colson 



44 



WORLD'S RECORD CREW (18: 5 3 'A) 




VARSITY 1901 
Smith Robbins Petty Vanderhoef (capt. ) Lueder Van Alstyne Kuschke Merrill Hazelwood 



In 1 903 the performance of the previous year was repeated, Cornell winning the Junior 
event on Decoration Day against Pennsylvania and Harvard, and the Poughkeepsie races in 
one, tw^o, three order. The Freshman crew^ broke the intercollegiate record made by Yale at 
Poughkeepsie in '97 by row^ing the tw^o miles in 9 minutes 18 seconds. 

The Poughkeepsie Regatta in 1 904 was w^on in both Varsity and Freshman events by 
Syracuse, a comparative novice in intercollegiate row^ing. The Syracuse crew^s had been 
coached by the veteran oarsman. Ten Eyck. Ow^ing to the contingency occasioned by sickness 
of two of the men in the Cornell boat it w^as decided to row^ the Foote boys in two successive 
races, the four-oared and Varsity. Although the Varsity w^as undoubtedly w^eakened by this 
policy, the loss of the race has not generally been attributed to that fact. The four-oared race 
w^as w^on by Cornell by eight or nine lengths. The Decoration Day race w^as against Harvard 
on Cayuga, Cornell w^inning by three lengths. 

45 




VARSITY 1902 
Smith Coffin Hazelwood Frenzel Lueder Van Alstyne Petty (capt.) Merrill Sebring 



Decoration Day 1905 is one long to be remembered 
by Cornellians. On that day the Harvard Varsity vv^as 
defeated at Cambridge by six lengths in a two-mile race, 
with banks and housetops thronged by a tremendous 
crow^d. At the same time the Junior Varsity, w^ith a stroke 
taken from the Freshman crew^ at the eleventh hour, -was 
clipping tvs^o seconds from the record of the American 
Henley course on the Schuylkill, defeating the Yale and 
Pennsylvania representatives ; w^hile in other branches 
Manhattan -was defeated in baseball 2 to 0, and the Inter- 
collegiate Track Meet w^as won at Philadelphia by a close 
margin. 

The 1 905 Varsity crew^ w^as easily the best of the long 
line of Cornell crew^s, many experts agreeing that it w^as the 
fastest crew that ever sat in an American shell. The time 
of the four-mile race at Poughkeepsie w^as not fast, ow^ing to unfavorable conditions at the 
time, but previously the crew had rowed over the course in 18 minutes 33 seconds and had 
rowed up-stream in 18 minutes 24 1/2 seconds. 




46 




VARSITY 1903 
Buchanan Coffin ELdmonston Nutting Foote Van Alstyne Brandow Wadsworth Lueder 




SAGE COLLEGE CREW 
(Undisputed Champions of Beebe Lake) 



47 




VARSITY 1904 
Heggem Nutting Stone Ballinger Foote (G. W.) Wadsworth Fernow Foote (E. T.) Boesch 

When the starting signal was given Cornell was not headed straight, and it required three 
or four quick splashing strokes to turn the boat into its course. After that, how^ever, the crew^ 
settled dow^n to a long, slow^ thirty-two to the minute stroke, which was not varied for a 




The Oaks 



CORNELL QUARTERS AT POUGHKEEPSIE 
48 




VARSITY 1905 
Taylor Foote (E, T.) Lee Fernow Foote (G. W.) Dods 



Boesch (Com.) Barton Stowell 



moment throughout the course. At the half-mile Cornell w^as comfortably in the lead ; at the 
mile, six lengths of open water separated her from her nearest competitor, and from there on 
a length was gained w^ith each minute of the race. While the other crew^s engaged in a terri- 
ble nerve-racking struggle for supremacy, Cornell just row^ed on and on in the distance. As 
someone expressed it, it seemed like a dream, or like a farce comedy concocted for the enter- 
tainment of those tw^enty thousand spectators. The order of finish w^as, Cornell, Syracuse, 




(Other Crews) 



F1.NISH OF 1905 VARSITY RACE 
49 



(Cornell) 



Georgetown, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. The Freshman race 'was won by Cornell 
by eight lengths, w^ith Syracuse second, Columbia third, and Pennsylvania fourth. Syracuse 
w^on the four-oared from Cornell by three-quarters of a length in record time, with Pennsylva- 
nia, Columbia and Wisconsin follow^ing. 













- 


M^H 


J^ ^- L..„.. 






... j^ 


tLA., 


ik. 


Mi 

4^ 


N* 


Hjgnii 

SPBS 

■i 


• 

■ 








^^i^s^ 


■ 






^g[^^^_^' r «' 1 M -Mil V ^.yHFlHMilllJ^^H 








^^ 





(Cornell) 



JUNIOR VARSITY RACE (Cayuga Lake 1906) 



(Pennsylvania) 



In ] 906, Cornell w^as still supreme, w^inning the Poughkeepsie regatta in Varsity and 
four-oared events, but losing to Syracuse in the Freshman. In the Varsity race, soon after 
the start, the six boats divided into tw^o groups with Cornell leading Syracuse and Penn- 
sylvania in the first group, and Wisconsin, Columbia and Georgetow^n making up the second. 
At the end of the mile, Cornell w^as leading slightly with Pennsylvania second, w^hich lead 
v^as maintained throughout and increased to a length and a half at the finish. Syracuse 
struggled w^ith Pennsylvania for second place, w^ith Wisconsin, Columbia and Georgetow^n 
follow^ing. The four-oared w^as w^on by Cornell, in a runaw^ay race, w^hile the Freshman w^as 
the spectacular race of the day, Syracuse w^inning by a length, Cornell second, Wisconsin 
third, by probably less than five feet, and Columbia and Pennsylvania follow^ing. On Deco- 
ration Day, at Cambridge, defeat had again been administered to the Harvard crew^, which 
later w^on from Yale at New^ London and lost to Cambridge University in England. 

This ends the record of the Cornell Navy to date (January I, 1907). What the future 
holds in store for her w^e can only surmise; but if a system firmly established upon a broad 
common sense basis, a long and creditable list of victories, determination on the part of an 
enthusiastic and ever increasing body of " grads " and " undergrads," count for anything, 
Cornell will continue to w^in a fair share, and perhaps something more than a fair share, of 
victories on the water. 

In the fall of 1905 an intra-college challenge cup was offered by Mr. J. H. Barr, a former professor, and at 
the time an Alumni Trustee of the University. The first regatta for that trophy was held in May, 1906, 
on the Inlet, over a quarter-mile course, and was won by the College of Civil Engineering. The races were 
rovjred in eight-oared gigs, two crews rowing at a time, and five colleges competing. It promises to be one of the 
popular rowing events of the year. 

50 




Taylo 



Foote 



Lee 



VARSITY 1906 
Gavat Dods 



Stowell 



Barton 



Newman 



If asked to analyze the causes of her past success, I should perhaps say with Mr. C. S. 
Francis, in a letter written some years ago, that it has been the result of the exercise of good 
judgment in the selection of the personnel of the crew^s, of faithful training on the part of 
those selected, and a determination not to admit the possibility of defeat. "While not taking 
from the oarsmen one tittle of credit, how^ever," he goes on to say, " and w^hile appreciating 
at their proper value advantages of good w^ater, and the big hill, w^hich does much tow^ard 
developing leg muscle and lung pow^er, yet to the intelligent and careful coaching of 
Mr. Charles E. Courtney more than to all other causes combined, is the Cornell Navy indebted 
for her long list of victories." 




A SPEED TRIAL ON THE HUDSON 
51 







THE "OLD MAN" AND COXSWAINS (1906) 



52 



A DAY AT THE POUGHKEEPSIE RACES 



1906 




GETTING ON THE OBSERVATION TRAIN 



53 




THE START OF THE FOUR-OARED 
Pennsylvania (4) Syracuse (3) Columbia (2) 



Cornell (1) 




AT THE MILE 



Syracuse (2) 



Cornell (1) 




AT THE MILE AND A HALF 

Cornell (1) 

54 



Wisconsin (5) 



START OF THE FRESHMAN 
Pennsylvania (4) Cornell (3) Syracuse (2) 



Columbia ( 1 ) 




Pennsylvania (5) 



HALF MILE 

Columbia (4) Wisconsin (3) 



Cornell (2) Syracuse ( I ) 




Columbia (5) Pennsylvania (4) 



MILE 
Wisconsin (3) Cornell (2) Syracuse ( 1 ) 




Columbia (4) 



FINISH 
Wisconsin (3) Cornell (2) 



Syracuse ( I ) 



55 




START OF THE VARSITY 

Pennsylvania (6) Gccrgetown (5) Cornell (4) Wisconsin (3) Columbia (2) Syracuse (I) 




HALF MILE 
Columbia (6) Georgetown (5) Wisconsin (4) Syracuse (3) Pennsylvania (2) Cornell (!) 




<*■«*-«■>■«*< 



f •4'iHi i i i i 



MILE 
Columbia (6) Wisconsin (5) Georgetown (4) Syracuse (3) Pennsylvania (2) Cornell CI) 




Columbia (6) Georgetown (5) Wisconsin (4) 



MILE AND ONE HALF 
56 



Syracuse (3) Pennsylvania (2) Cornell (I) 



Georgetown (6) Columbia (5) Wisconsin (4) 



TWO MILES 



Syracuse (3) 




TWO AND ONE HALF IVIILES 

Pennsylvania (2) Syracuse (3) 



Cornell (1) 




THREE MILES 



Syracuse (3) 



Pennsylvania (2) Cornell ( 1 ) 




THREE AND ONE HALF MILES 

Syracuse (3) Pennsylvania (2) Cornell (I) 

57 




FINISH POUGHKEEPSIE '06 (Just after Crossing the Une) 
Syracuse (3) Pennsylvania (2) Cornell (I) 

CORNELL NAVY RECORD 





MEMBERS OF THE CREWS 




1873 Varsity 


1874 Varsity 


Bow 


R. Anderson 


J. N. Ostrom (Captain) 


2 


J. N. Ostrom 


L. F. Henderson 


3 


J. H. Southard 


P. Clark 


4 


C. S. Dutton 


M. M. Carver 


5 


F. B. Ferriss (Captain) 


R. W. Corv/in 


Stroke 


C. C. King 


C. C. King 


Substitute 








E. L. Phillips * 


J. H. Southard 




1875 Varsity 


1875 Freshman 


Bow 


J. S. Waterman * 


L. Palmer 


2 


D. O. Barto 


J. L. Camp, Jr. 


3 


A. R. Gillis 


V. De Loss Grave 


4 


J. L. Jarvis 


A. W. Smith 


5 


C. C. King 


H. 1. Carpenter ''' 


Stroke 


J. N. Ostrom (Captain) 


John Lewis (Captain) 


Substitute 


E. Le B. Gardner 






1876 Varsity 


1876 Freshman 


Bow^ 


J. S. Waterman * 


F. N. Wilcox 


2 


D. O. Barto 


G. T. Baker 


3 


A. W. Smith 


W. Doggett 


4 


J. L. Jarvis 


E. W. Gregory 


5 


John Lewis 


J. W. Warner 


Stroke 


J. N. Ostrom (Captain) 


J. P. Mason (Captain) 


Substitutei 


» 






L. Palmer 


G. A. Dounce 




D. W. King 





1877 and 1878, No Varsity 



1877, No Freshman 



58 



1878 Freshman 

E. O. Curtice 

C. E. Foster 
H. T. Waterbury 
A. H. Cowles 
J. G. Allen 

D. L. D. Jayne 

E. H. Cole 
J. N. D. Shinkel (Captain) 



Bow 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Stroke 

Coxsw^ain V. Elstun 

Substitute 

B. Arnold* 



1879 Varsity 

Bow J. W. Warner 

2 J. G. Allen 

3 J. N. D. Shinkel 
Stroke John Lew^is 
Substitutes 

D. D. Jayne 
G. M. Mann* 



1880 Varsity 

A. H. Cowles 
John Lewis 
J. G. Allen 
J. N. D. Shinkel 



1881 Varsity (Henley Crew) 



1882 Varsity 



Bow 

2 

3 

Stroke 

Substitute 


A. H. Cowles 
John Lew^is 
J. G. Allen 
J. N. D. Shinkel 

J. E. Read 


J. F. Tuthill 
A. H. Cowles 
S. S. Holman 
H. B. Swartwout 

E. C. Reed 




1883 Varsity 


1884 Varsity 


Bow^ 

2 

3 

Stroke 
Substitute 


C. A. Raht 

F. G. Scofleld 

C. C. Chase 

H. B. Swartwout (Captain) 

F. E. Wilcox 


C. A. Raht 

A. L. Cornell 

H. S. Howland 

F. G. Scofield (Captain) 

W. G. Barney 
W. Church 




1885 Varsity 


1886, No Varsity 


Bow 
2 

3 
Stroke 


H. S. Howland 
S. S. Holman 

E. M. Olmstead 

F. G. Scofield (Captain) 






1887 Varsity 


1888 Varsity 


Bow^ 
2 
3 
Stroke 


W. Stranahan 

G. L. Fielder (Captain) 

W. H. Peck 

A. C Balch 


W. B. Tobey (Captain)* 
W. M. Dollar 
G. H. Thayer 
R. L. McComb 
Substitute 

J. D. Ross 



59 



1889 Varsity 

Bow J. D. Ross 

2 H. A. Benedict 

3 A. G. Colnon 

4 W. B. Tobey * 

5 A. W. Marston 

6 P. Hagerman 

7 G. H. Thayer (Captain) 
Stroke W. S. Dole 
Coxsw^ain L. W. Emerich 
Substitutes 

H. L. Baker 
L. W. Healy 



1890 Varsity 

Bow W. D. Osgood * 

2 H. A. Benedict (Captain) 

3 J. M. Wolfe 

4 T. W. Hill 

5 A. W. Marston 

6 P. Hagerman 

7 D. Upton 
Stroke W. S. Dole 
Coxsw^ain L. W. Emerich 





1891 Varsity 


Bow 


W. Young 


2 


F. W. Kelley 


3 


J. M. Wolfe (Captain) 


4 


T. W. Hill 


5 


G. F. Wagner 


6 


G. P. Witherbee * 


7 


A. W. Marston 


Stroke 


H. A. Benedict 


Coxsw^aiE 


lE. P.Allen* 


Substitutes 






C. J. Barr 




E. A. Griffith 




1892 Varsity 


Bow^ 


F. W. Kelley 


2 


C. J. Barr 


3 


C. F. Wagner 


4 


W. S. Dole 


5 


A. W. Marston (Captain) 


6 


G. P. Witherbee * 


7 


E. G. Gilson 


Stroke 


T. Hall 


Coxsw^ain 


, E. p. Allen 1= 


Substitutes 






F. S. Root 



1890 Freshman 

G. P. Symonds 

F. W. Kelley (Captain) 
C. B. Hadden 

A. T. Baldwin 

G. V. Fowler 
C. J. Barr 
W. Young 

G. P. Witherbee * 
E. P. Allen * 
Substitute 

E. A. Griffith 

1891 Freshman 

R. B. Daggett 

W. H. Dole (Captain) 

F. S. Root 

W. H. Dunham 
A. H. Place 
T. Hall 
E. G. Gilson 
W. G. Kranz 
T. S. Clark 

. S. G. Higley 



1892 Freshman 

A. C. Freeborn 

P. A. Robbins 

E. C. Hagar 

W. B. Sanborn 

H. C Pitcher 

H. C. Troy (Captain) 

R. L. Shape 

G. W. Collins 

N. N. Sherman * 

J. A. Nichols, Jr. 
E. Heitman, Jr. 
Juan Zaldvondo 



60 





1893 Varsity 


Bow 


A. C. Freeborn 


2 


C. J. Barr (Captain) 


3 


E. C. Hagar 


4 


P. A. Robbins 


5 


R. L. Shape 


6 


H. C. Troy 


7 


E. G. Gilson 


Stroke 


T. Hall 


Coxswain N. N. Sherman* 


Substitute 






G. W. Collins 




1894 Varsity 


Bow 


A. C. Freeborn 


2 


T. Hall (Captain) 


3 


E. C. Hagar 


4 


G. P. Dyer 


5 


T. N. Carver 


6 


F. W. Freeborn 


7 


R. L. Shape 


Stroke 


P. A. Robbins 


Coxswain E. P. Allen * 


Substitutes 




H. C Troy 




R. B. Hamilton 




L. L. Tatum 




1895 Varsity 


Bow^ 


F. C. Slade 


2 


W. B. Chriswell 


3 


C S. Moore * 


4 


E. Johnston 


5 


C H. Smith 


6 


W. B. Sanborn 


7 


L. L. Tatum 


Stroke 


H. C. Troy (Captain) 



Coxsw^ain R. T. Richardson 
Substitutes 

E. A. Crawford 
J. H. Taussig 

F. A. Briggs 



1893 Freshman 

F. B. Matthews * 
E. H. Bingham 

E. F. Guilford 

G. P. Dyer 

H. L. K. Shaw^ (Captain) 
W. How^ard 

F. C. Slade 

R. B. Hamilton 
J. H. Hall 

M. W. Roe 

Z. W. Wheland 

1894 Freshman 

J. H. Taussig 
W. B. Chriswell 

C. A. Louis 

E. A. Craw^ford 

D. C. Scott 
L. Kinney 

L. Dillingham 

E. O. Spillman (Captain) 

F. D. Colson 

W. H. Squire 



1895 Freshman 

E. J. Savage (Captain) 
C. K. Conrad * 
I. C. Ludlam 
J. Fuller, Jr. 

E. Johnson 
J. C. Inslee* 
C. S. Moore * 

F. A. Briggs 
E. A. Boyd 



H. W. Jeffers 
W. C White 



61 







189£ 


1 Varsity (Henley Crew) 




Bow^ 


M 


. W. Roe 






2 


E. 


o. 


Spillman 






3 


E. 


c. 


Hagar 






4 


F. 


w 


. Freeborn 


(Captain) 




5 


T. 


E. 


Fennell 






6 


G. 


P. 


Dyer 






7 


C. 


A. 


Louis 






Stroke 


T. 


Hi 


ill 






Coxsw^ain F. 


D. 


Colson 






Substitutes 












R. 


L. 


Shape 








W 


. B. 


sntley 








R. 


B. 


Hamilton 








F. 


B. 


Matthews 


* 




1896 Varsity 








1896 Freshman 


Bow 


I. C. Ludlam 








W. B. Stamford 


2 


W. B. Chriswell 








T. L. Bailey 


3 


C. S. Moore* 








S. W. Wakeman (Captain) 


4 


F. W. Freeborn 


(Captain) 




C M. Oddie 


5 


E. J. Savage 








P. Russell 


6 


E. O. Spillman 








A. C. King 


7 


L. L. Tatum 








W. C Dalzell, Jr. 


Stroke 


F. A. Briggs 








E. B. Carter 


Coxswain F. D. Colson 








S.L.Fisher* 


Substitutes 


E. Johnston 
H. C. Troy 

F. C. Slade 

1897 Varsity 








G. O. Wagner 
A. B. Raymond 

1897 Freshman 


Bow 


S. W. Wakeman 








P. Will 


2 


W. Bentley 








C. B. SmalWood 


3 


C. S. Moore * 








P. B. Windsor 


4 


A. C. King 








R. H. Gamw^ell 


5 


M. M. Odell 








L. F. Hanmer 


6 


E. O. Spillman (Captain) 




C. W. Coit 


7 


E. J. Savage 








A. R. Ayers 


Stroke 


F. A. Briggs 








J. W. Ihlder 


Coxsw^air 


1 F. D. Colson 








E. T. Magoffin 


Substitutes 


W. C. Dalzell, Jr. 
C. M. Oddie 
E. B. Carter 
T. L. Bailey 








H. E. Halloway 
R. W. Beardslee 



62 





1898 Varsity 








1898 Freshman 


Bow 


W. C. Dalzell, Jr. 








C. H. Fay 


2 


W. Bentley 








H. E. Vanderhoef 


3 


S. W. Wakeman 








E. C. King 


4 


T. L. Bailey 








C. W. Cross 


5 


C. S. Moore * 








A. Ball 


6 


R. W. Beardslee 








L. S. Lyon (Captain) 


7 


E. J. Savage 








S. W. Hardey 


Stroke 


F. A. Briggs 








C. B. English 


Coxswain 


I F. D. Colson (Captain) 








N. L. Ritchie 


Substitutes 


A. B. Raymond 
E. R. Sweetland 

1899 Varsity 








D. R. Thomas 
R. W. Robbins 
T. B. Taylor 
C. A. Tryon 

1899 Freshman 


Bow 


S. W. Hartley 








A. F. Brinckerhoef 


2 


H. E. Vanderhoef 








H. L. Chase 


3 


S. W. Wakeman 








L. S. Haskin 


4 


A. C. King 








F. H. Teagle 


5 


E. R. Sw^eetland 








A. S. Petty 


6 


R. W. Beardslee 








E. H. Powley (Captain) 


7 


W. C Dalzell 








E. D. Toohill 


Stroke 


R. W. Robbins 








J. M. Francis 


Coxswain S. L. Fisher (Captain) 








G. E. Long 


Substitutes 


L. S. Lyon 

C. B. Smallwood 








W. O. Beyer 
E. L. Walker 




1899 


Four-Oared 






Bow 


A. 


R. Ayers 




2 


L. 


S. 


Lyon 






3 


L. 


F. 


Hanmer 




Stroke 


C. 


B. 


Englis 


;h 




1900 Varsity 








1900 Freshman 


Bow 


S. W. Hartley 








H. M. Longyear '■= 


2 


H. E. Vanderhoef 








P. F. Ballinger 


3 


A. S. Petty 








C. R. Osborne 


4 


R. W. Beardslee 








J. P. Frenzel, Jr. 


5 


C. B. SmalWood 








R. L. Hutton 


6 


J. M. Francis 








F. E. Benedict 


7 


W. C. Dalzell, Jr. (Captain) 






H. T. Kuschke 


Stroke 


R. W. Robbins 








W. Merrill 


Coxsw^ain 


1 G. E. Long 








J. G. Smith 










Substitutes 












T. J. Van Alstyne 












S. Hazlew^ood 



63 







1900 Four-Oared 






Bow 


A. F. Brinckerhoe 


;f 




2 


E. A. Burrow^s 






3 


W. O. Beyer 






4 


A. E. Flowers 






1901 Varsity 




1901 Freshman 


Bow 


S. Hazlew^ood 




J. W. Schade 


2 


W. Merrell 




E. A. Wadsworth 


3 


H. T. Kuschke 




W. A. Whittelsey, Jr. 


4 


T. J. Van Alstyne 


R. W. Nutting 


5 


C. A. Lueder 




H. W. Torney 


6 


H. E. Vanderhoe 


f (Captain) 


R. M. Thompson 


7 


A. S. Petty 




J. F. Borden (Captain) 


Stroke 


R. W. Robbins 




A. R. Coffin 


Coxswain J. G. Smith 




E. G. Atkin 


Substitutes 








B. H. Smith 




C A. Lyford 




E. D. Sebring 


1901 Four-Oared 


G. W. Walker 




Bow^ 


E. D. Toohill 






2 


P. F. Ballinger 






3 


C. L. Edmonston 






Stroke 


J. P. Frenzel, Jr. 






1902 Varsity 




1902 Freshman 


Bow 


E. D. Sabring 




J. L. White 


2 


W. Merrill 




J. Snyder (Captain) 


3 


A. S. Petty (Captain) 


J. W. Fisher 


4 


T. J. Van Alstyne 




F. Miller 


5 


C. A. Lueder 




G. W. Foote 


6 


J. P. Frenzel, Jr. 




H. S. Munroe 


7 


S. Hazlewood * 




L. G. Gates 


Stroke 


A. R. Coffin 




W. C. Shephard 


Coxsw^ain 


1 J. G. Smith 




1. V. Buchanan 


Substitutes 










P. F. Ballinger 




C D. Ruland 




H. W. Torney 


1902 Four-Oared 


C. E. Boesch 




Bow 


E. D. Toohill 






2 


P. F. Ballinger 






3 


C. L. Edmonston 






Stroke 


C. A. Lyford 





64 





1903 Varsity 




1903 Freshman 


Bow 


C. L. Edmonston 




W. F. Lee 


2 


E. A. Wadsworth 




R. C. Barton 


3 


E. E. Brandow 




C. P. Johnson 


4 


T. J. Van Alstyne 




P. Folger 


5 


G. W. Foote 




J. H. Whitehead 


6 


R. W. Nutting 




H. L. Aller 


7 


C. A. Lueder 




W. H. Forbes 


Stroke 


A. R. Coffin 




E. T. Foote 


Coxswair 


1 I. V. Buchanan 




R. R. Slocum 


Substitutes 










J. P. Frenzel (Captain) 




H. F. Locke 




C. C. Adams 




H. S. Krauter 




A. Whittemore 








1903 


Four-Oared 






Bow 


J. W. Schade 






2 


J. Snyder 






3 


A. Stone 






Stroke 


L. F. Bruce 






1904 Varsity 




1904 Freshman 


Bow 


C. E. Boesch 




J. H. Graham 


2 


E. T. Foote 




J. A. Ostos 


3 


B. E. Fernow 




F. D. Hooper 


4 


E. A. Wadsworth 




R. H. Bishop 


5 


G. W. Foote 




J. Q. Newton 


6 


P. F. Ballinger 




R. E. Coulson 


7 


A. Stone 




W. S. Stowell 


Stroke 


R. W. Nutting 




G. C. Sumner 


Coxsw^air 


I C. R. Heggen 




W. G. Taylor 


Substitutes 










A. R. Coffin (Captain) 




G. W. Nasmyth 




W. H. Forbes 




C. J. Goodier 




1904 


Four-Oared 






Bow 


W. F. Lee 






2 


R. C. Barton 




3 


G. W. Foote 




Stroke 


E. T. Foote 






1905 Varsity 




1905 Freshman 


Bow^ 


W. S. Stowell 




T. Earle 


2 


R. C. Barton 




A. A. Allen 


3 


C. E. Boesch (Commodore) 


G. C. Hanson 


4 


J. P. Dods 




S. C Nedham 


5 


G. W. Foote 




L. W. Gavett 


6 


B. E. Femow, Jr. 




J. W. Holt 


7 


W. F. Lee 




T. W. Welsh 


Stroke 


E. T. Foote 




C. P. Cox 


Coxsw^ain 


I W. G. Taylor 




G. D. Ellsworth, Jr. 


Substitutes 










G. M. Chapman 




J. H. Bromley 




O. W. Roats. 




J. A. Carman 



65 





1905 Four-Oared 




Bow 


F. D. Hooper 




2 


C. D. Barnhardt 




3 


J. M. Acklin 




Stroke 


C. J. Goodier 




1906 Varsity 


1906 Freshman 


Bow^ 


W. S. Newman 


S. S. Bullen 


2 


R. C. Barton 


F. E. Wurst 


3 


W. S. Stowell 


E. H. Clark 


4 


J. P. Dods 


H. N. Simpson 


5 


L. W. Gavett 


R. W. Conant 


6 


C. P. Cox 


G. H. Walder 


7 


W. F. Lee 


A. G. Vail 


Stroke 


E. T. Foote (Commodore) R. W. Weed. Jr. 


Coxswain W. G. Taylor 


W. C Sloan 




1906 


Four-Oared 




Bow^ 


T. W. B. Welsh 




2 


L. R. Gracy 




3 


J. M. Acklin 




Stroke 


C. J. Goodier 



De 



66 



CORNELL NAVY RECORD 



Place Contestants in Order of Finish 

1872 

Ithaca, May 11 Union Springs, Cornell 

1873 



Springfield, July 16 



Saratoga, July 18 



, Yale, Wesleyan, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Dart- 
mouth, Amherst, Bowdoin, Mass., Agriculture, 
Trinity, Williams 

1874 

Columbia, Wesleyan, Harvard, Williams, Cornell, Dart- 
mouth, Princeton, Trinty, Yale 

1875 



Ithaca, May 22 Cornell, Union Springs 

Saratoga, July 13 (Freshman) Cornell, Harvard, Brown, Princeton . . . 

Saratoga, July 14 Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth, Wesleyan, 

Yale, Amherst, Brown, Williams, Bow^doin, Hamilton, 
Union, Princeton 

1876 

Ithaca, June 12 Cornell, Watkins 

Saratoga, July 19 (Freshman) Cornell, Harvard, Columbia 

" " (Single) Cornell (C. S. Francis) Harvard, Columbia, 

Pennsylvania 

" " Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Union, Wesleyan, Prince- 
ton 

1878 

Ensinore (Ow^asco Lake) July 1 7 . (Freshman) Cornell, Harvard 

1879 



Ithaca, May 30 Watkins, Cornell 

Lake George, July 18 Columbia, Wesleyan, Cornell 



1880 

Lake George, July 16 Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia 

1881 

Henley, Eng., June 30 London, Thames, Cornell . . , 

" July 2 Hertford College, Cornell .... 



London, Eng., July 14 London, Thames, Cornell 

Vienna, Austria, Aug. 11 ... Cornell defeated . . . . 



1882 

Lake George, July 4 Pennsylvania, Wesleyan, Princeton, Cornell, Bowdoin 

67 



Time Distance Boat 



16.54 



16.59 



16.42 



11.14 
17.32i 



16.53i 



17.131 



13.25 
8.26 



9.12 



8.56 



8.19 



9.35 



2 6 

3 6 



13.30 


2 


6 


1 7.23 J 


3 


6 


13.421 


3 


6 


17.01i 


3 


6 



2 4 

li 4 



H 



1 mi. 4 

550 yds. 

1 mi. 4 

550 yds. 

If 4 

4 



14 



Pla 



Cazenovia Lake, May 25 
Lake George, July 4 . . 



Contestants in Order of Finish 

1883 

Cornell, Elmira, Syracuse 

Cornell, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Wesleyan 



Time Distance Boat 



Philadelphia, June 19 
Saratoga, July 6 . . . 



Philadelphia, June 19 . . 
Worcester, Mass., July 4 . 



1884 

. Pennsylvania, Cornell, Princeton 

. Pennsylvania, Cornell, Bowrdoin, Princeton, Columbia 

1885 

. Cornell, Pennsylvania . . 

. Cornell, Brown, Bowdoin, Pennsylvania 



1886 



Saratoga (Junior Singles) Cornell (H. S. Hov^rland) 

1887 

Newark, June 11 Cornell, three Boat Clubs 

Worcester, Mass. July 5 . , . . Cornell, Bow^doin 



1888 

Philadelphia, July 4 Cornell, Pennsylvania, New York Rowing Club 

1889 

Newr London, June 27 Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania 

Philadelphia, July 4 Cornell, Crescents, Fairmounts 

" "5 Cornell, Pennsylvania 



1890 

Ithaca, June 18 Cornell, Bow^doin 

New London, June 24 . ... (Freshman) Cornell, Columbia, Yale 
" "26 Cornell, Pennsylvania .... 



1891 

New London, June 20 (Freshman) Cornell, Columbia 

"25 Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia 

1892 

Ithaca, June 9 . . (Freshman) Cornell, Columbia 

Newark, May 31 Cornell, New York Athletic Club 

Ithaca, June 15 Cornell, Pennsylvania 



1893 

New^ London, June 20 (Freshman) Cornell, Columbia 

Lake Minnetonka, Minn., July 8 . Cornell, Pennsylvania .... 



Torresdale, Pa., June 16 
Ithaca, June 18 ... . 



1894 

. . Cornell, Pennsylvania 

. . (Freshman) Cornell, Dauntless R. C. 



11.35 
11.57 



9.06J 
8.39i 



8.51 
9.10^ 



10.8 



8.13J 
9.38 



8.19J 



10.38 
14.274* 



10.56 
7.21* 
17.26 



10.08 
23.40 



2I.I2J 
11.152 



2 









1i 



\h 



2 

H 

3 



4 
4 



5.30 


3 


6 


7.03 


li 


8 


6.40* 


li 


8 



17.30 


3 


8 


1I.16J 


2 


8 


14.43* 


3 


8 



8 
8 

8 



68 



Pla 



Ithaca, June 14 ... . 
Poughkeepsie, June 24 
Henley, Eng., July 10 . 



Poughkeepsie, June 26 



Annapolis, May 30 . . 

Poughkeepsie, June 23 

" 25 

" 30 

July 2 



Newr London, June 23 . 
Saratoga, July 2 . . . 

Ithaca, May 30 . . . 
Poughkeepsie, June 26 



Philadelphia, May 30 . 
Poughkeepsie, June 30 



Ithaca, May 30 . . . 
Poughkeepsie, July 2 



Ithaca, May 30 . . 
Philadelphia, May 30 . 
Poughkeepsie, June 21 



Contestants in Order of Finish 

1895 

(Freshman) Cornell, Pennsylvania . 

Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania 

Trinity Hall, Cornell 

1896 

(Freshman) Cornell, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Columbia 
Cornell, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Columbia 

1897 

Cornell, Naval Cadets 

(Freshman) Yale, Harvard, Cornell 

Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Columbia 

(Freshman) Cornell, Pennsylvania 

Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania 

1898 

(Freshman) Yale, Harvard, Cornell .... '. . . 

Cornell, Yale, Harvard . . . 

(Freshman) Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania, Cornell, Wisconsin, Columbia .... 

1899 

(Junior) Cornell, Pennsylvania . 

(Freshman) Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania .... 

Pennsylvania, Cornell .... 

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Cornell, Columbia .... 

1900 

(Junior) Pennsylvania, Cornell, Columbia 

(Freshman) Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, CornelI,Columbia 

Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell 

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Cornell, Columbia, George- 
town 

1901 

(Junior) Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania ... 

(Freshman) Pennsylvania, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse 

Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia 

Cornell, Columbia, Wisconsin, Georgetowrn, Syracuse, 
Pennsylvania 

1902 

(Junior) Cornell, Syracuse, Harvard (Newell Club) . . 

(Junior) Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell 

(Freshman) Cornell, Wisconsin, Columbia, Syracuse, 

Pennsylvania 

Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia 

Cornell, Wisconsin, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Syracuse, 
Georgeto-wn 

69 



Time 



11.18? 

21.25 

7.15 



10.18 
19.29* 



Distance Boat 



8.17 

9.45f 

10.31i 

19.44 J 



2 

4 

1 mi. 

550 yds. 



14 

2 

2 



11.15 


2 


8 


9.19i* 


2 


8 


20.34 


4 


8 


9.2 H 


2 


8 


20.474 


4 


8 



11.22! 


2 


8 


23.48 


4 


8 


10.574 


2 


8 


15.51i 


3 


8 



11.26i 


2 


8 


9.55 


2 


8 


11.12 


2 


4 


20.04 


4 


8 



8 
4 



10.52 


2 


8 


10.20i 


2 


8 


11.39i 


2 


4 


18.53i* 


4 


8 


10.48 


2 


8 




2 


8 


9.39.i 


2 


8 


10.434 


2 


4 


19.051 


4 


8 



Place Contestants in Order of Finish Time Distance Boat 

1903 

Ithaca, May 30 (Junior) Cornell, Pennsylvania, Harvard 1 1.14J 2 8 

Poughkeepsie, June 26 . . . (Freshman) Cornell, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Columbia, 

Pennsylvania 9.18* 2 2 

" "... Cornell, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Columbia .... 10.34 2 4 
" " .... Cornell, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Syra- 
cuse, Columbia 18.57 4 8 

1904 

Ithaca, May 28 (Junior) Cornell, Harvard 11.27i 2 8 

Poughkeepsie, June 28 .... Cornell, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, George- 
town 10.50:1 2 4 

" " . . . . (Freshman) Syracuse, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia 10.01 2 8 
" "... Syracuse, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia, George- 
town, Wisconsin 20.22§ 4 8 

1905 

Cambridge, May 30 (Varsity) Cornell, Harvard 

Philadelphia, May 30 (Junior) Cornell, Pennsylvania, Yale 

Poughkeepsie, June 28 . . . . (Freshman) Cornell, Syracuse, Columbia, Pennsylvania 

... Syracuse, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Wisconsin 
" " . . . . Cornell, Syracuse, Georgetown, Columbia, Pennsyl- 
vania, Wisconsin 20.29 

1906 

Ithaca, May 30 (Junior) Cornell, Pennsylvania 

Cambridge, May 30 (Varsity) Cornell, Harvard 

Poughkeepsie, June 23 .... (Freshman) Syracuse, Cornell, Wisconsin, Columbia, 

Georgetow^n 

... Cornell, Syracuse, Columbia, Pennsylvania 

" "... Cornell, Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Columbia, 

Georgetow^n 19.36 

*Record established. 



i0.09i 


2 


8 


6.34 


I^ 


8 


9.39i 


2 


8 


10.I5P 


2 


4 



11.011 


2 


8 


10.41^ 


li 


8 


9.5 U 


2 


8 


10.35! 


2 


4 



70 




CORNELL OF THE PRESENT 



71 



APR 25 1907 



